TOMS RIVER - Board of Education member Dan Leonard abruptly resigned on Thanksgiving Day, less than 48 hours after a contentious meeting in which he broke with the teachers' union and voted to approve a new five-year contract for Superintendent of Schools David M. Healy.

Leonard, 41, who represents his hometown of Beachwood on the nine-member regional school board, said in a prepared statement Thursday that he will step down from the panel on New Year’s Eve – just one year into a three-year term.

“Today, I am truly thankful for everyone in Beachwood and the entire district for allowing me to serve on the Toms River Regional Schools Board of Education for the past year,” Leonard wrote. “Regrettably, I will be resigning from this position effective Dec. 31, 2017. I am sure the new board will select a suitable replacement who will put the needs of the district above all else. I wish the district nothing but continued success in the future.”

The school board will have 65 days after Leonard’s resignation takes effect to temporarily replace him with a legally qualified Beachwood resident. On Election Day in November 2018, Beachwood voters will then have an opportunity to elect a representative to the seat for the remainder of the unexpired term, according to the New Jersey School Boards Association. The term Leonard was elected to does not expire until Dec. 31, 2019.

Although school boards are officially non-partisan entities, the political reality in Toms River is that Democrats enjoy a 5-to-4 majority on the board. Leonard is a Republican, so the vacancy is an unexpected opportunity for Democrats to strengthen their majority and weaken the Republican minority.

WATCH: In the video above, National Honor Society students from Toms River High School South deliver Thanksgiving dinners to local families in need.

Leonard told the Asbury Park Press on Thursday that the reasons for his resignation are “too many to mention.” When asked if he was being pressured to resign, Leonard replied: “Not at all.”

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Toms River Board of Education member Dan Leonard of Beachwood (second from left) said he will step down from the nine-member panel on Dec. 31, 2017.(Photo: Erik Larsen, Asbury Park Press)

Leonard said he has been frustrated with the school district’s political climate and was profoundly disappointed in the outcome of the Nov. 7 election when Republicans failed to win a majority on the board. After Tuesday night, Leonard said he realized he no longer wanted to serve on the school board.

"I did not want it to come to this," Leonard wrote in a cryptic message on his Facebook page Wednesday afternoon. "I tried, I really did."

The superintendent is unpopular with the Toms River Education Association and many teachers in the audience – who had packed the board meeting Tuesday – groaned and grumbled as Leonard attempted to defend his plans to break with his fellow Republicans and vote in favor of Healy’s new contract.

Going forward, Leonard faced the prospect of total political isolation.

Leonard, a combat veteran who served as a paratrooper with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division in the war in Afghanistan, has also been privately struggling with mounting health issues connected to his military service, he disclosed Thursday.

While deployed, Leonard sustained injuries from three blasts in combat zones. He also suffered several hard landings during parachute operations and has had complications from injuries he suffered while participating on a boxing team during his Army career.

Leonard is employed full-time in a civil service position for the Ocean County Workforce Investment Board. He and his his wife, Michelle, have two daughters.

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Toms River High School South National Honor Society members pack fully cooked Thanksgiving meals at the Ohana Grill in Lavallette Tuesday, Novemebr 21, 2017. The students held fundraisers to purchase 44 full course dinners which will feed more than 300 people. Thomas P. Costello

Ohana Grill Chef/Owner James Costello wraps up one of the 44 turkeys he prepared for the Toms River High School South National Honor Society members pack that is part of the fully cooked Thanksgiving meals the Lavallette restaurant prepared Tuesday, Novemebr 21, 2017. The students held fundraisers to purchase 44 full course dinners which will feed more than 300 people. Thomas P. Costello

The fully cooked Thanksgiving meals are ready to be packed at the Ohana Grill in Lavallette by Toms River High School South National Honor Society members Tuesday, Novemebr 21, 2017. The students held fundraisers to purchase 44 full course dinners which will feed more than 300 people. Thomas P. Costello

Toms River High School South National Honor Society members pack fully cooked Thanksgiving meals at the Ohana Grill in Lavallette Tuesday, Novemebr 21, 2017. The students held fundraisers to purchase 44 full course dinners which will feed more than 300 people. Thomas P. Costello

Ohana Grill Chef/Owner James Costello wraps up one of the 44 turkeys he prepared for the Toms River High School South National Honor Society members that is part of the fully cooked Thanksgiving meals the Lavallette restaurant prepared Tuesday, Novemebr 21, 2017. The students held fundraisers to purchase 44 full course dinners which will feed more than 300 people. Thomas P. Costello

Toms River High School South National Honor Society members Zack Stankovics, Beachwood, and Hannah Clause, Toms River, pack fully cooked Thanksgiving meals at the Ohana Grill in Lavallette Tuesday, Novemebr 21, 2017. The students held fundraisers to purchase 44 full course dinners which will feed more than 300 people. Thomas P. Costello

Stacks of sides wait for Toms River High School South National Honor Society members to pack the fully cooked Thanksgiving meals at the Ohana Grill in Lavallette Tuesday, Novemebr 21, 2017. The students held fundraisers to purchase 44 full course dinners which will feed more than 300 people. Thomas P. Costello

Toms River High School South National Honor Society members Connor Ryan (left), 17, Toms River, and Sean Ryan, 18, Beachwood, pack fully cooked Thanksgiving meals at the Ohana Grill in Lavallette Tuesday, Novemebr 21, 2017. The students held fundraisers to purchase 44 full course dinners which will feed more than 300 people. Thomas P. Costello

Toms River High School South National Honor Society member Hannah Clause 17, Toms River, loads bags with cooked turkeys onto her school bus at the Ohana Grill in Lavallette Tuesday, Novemebr 21, 2017. The students held fundraisers to purchase 44 full course Thanksgiving dinners which will feed more than 300 people. Thomas P. Costello

Toms River High School South National Honor Society members carry bags with cooked turkeys to their school bus at the Ohana Grill in Lavallette Tuesday, Novemebr 21, 2017. The students held fundraisers to purchase 44 full course Thanksgiving dinners which will feed more than 300 people. Thomas P. Costello

Toms River High School South National Honor Society members carry bags with cooked turkeys to their school bus at the Ohana Grill in Lavallette Tuesday, Novemebr 21, 2017. The students held fundraisers to purchase 44 full course Thanksgiving dinners which will feed more than 300 people. Thomas P. Costello

Ohana Grill Chef/Owner James Costello briefs Toms River High School South National Honor Society members on how to pack the fully cooked Thanksgiving meals that the Lavallette restaurant cooked Tuesday, Novemebr 21, 2017. The students held fundraisers to purchase 44 full course dinners which will feed more than 300 people. Also shown are NHS advisor Mary Highton and Ohana Grill co-owner Dana Costello. Thomas P. Costello

Toms River High School South National Honor Society advisor Mary Highton speaks with Ohana Grill co-owners James and Dana Costello in Lavallette Tuesday, Novemebr 21, 2017. The students held fundraisers to purchase 44 full course dinners from the restaurnat which will feed more than 300 people. Thomas P. Costello

Toms River High School South National Honor Society president Gabriel Rodriguez, 18, South Toms River, loads a bag with a cooked turkey onto their school bus at the Ohana Grill in Lavallette Tuesday, Novemebr 21, 2017. The students held fundraisers to purchase 44 full course Thanksgiving dinners which will feed more than 300 people. Thomas P. Costello